pomegranate orange smoothie

pomegranates from the co-op!  before this moment (the one above), i'd never had a pomegranate.  why?  WHY!?  holy S, pomegranates are delish people and this smoothie was incredibly refreshing.

give it a try, okay?

pomegranate orange smoothie

seeds from one pomegranate (separated from the fruit in a bowl of water was easiest as the seed fall to the bottom and the white stuff ~ whatever it's called ~ floats to the top)

juice from one large orange

medium frozen banana

1 cup light vanilla soy milk

blend all together in in a blender

pour into a cup through a sieve (this part was messy but, well worth the trouble)

enjoy all that nutrition!

frozen yogurt popsicles ~ strawberry

not the greatest photo but, it will have to do.

brooklyn and i made popsicles the other day using greek yogurt and frozen strawberries.  oh, and a little bit of sugar.  just a little.  shhhh.

the result, deliciousness on a stick.

strawberry popsicles
16 oz frozen strawberries, thawed
1/3 cup + 1/4 cup of bakers sugar (fine)
2 Tbsp water
juice from one lemon
1 cup greek yogurt or 1 cup strained yogurt (i used fage 0% plain yogurt)

bring the strawberries, water and 1/3 cup of sugar to a simmer in a medium sauce pan. simmer for 10 minutes or until strawberries are very soft.  pour into a food processor, add the lemon and pulse until almost pureed but not liquified.

refrigerate mixture until completely cool (at least an hour. i did this overnight).

once strawberry mixture is cool, mix 1/4 cup of sugar with yogurt until sugar is completely dissolved.  gently fold strawberry mixture into yogurt mixture until just combined.

pour into molds.

freeze at least 6 hours or overnight.

yum!

yields 6 popsicles

Nutrition Facts frozen yogurt & strawberry popsicles Serving Size: 1 serving Amount Per Serving Calories 121 Total Fat 0.1g       Saturated Fat 0g       Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 16mg Carbohydrate 28.1g       Dietary Fiber 1.5g       Sugars 24.5g Protein 3.7g Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 55% Calcium    6% Iron 3%

green monster

my kids drink these because of the name alone.

they are so nutritious.  guess what i put it in them?

yes.  spinach.

yes. flaxseed.

yes. berries, banana's, soy milk, protein powder and oj.  

they love green monsters.  i do too.  i drink one almost every day.  

looking for a quick breakfast, lunch or even (often) dinner!?

green monster smoothie

1/2 cup oj (fortified)

1 cup soy milk or skim milk (i use light vanilla soy)

handful fresh spinach (show the kids popeye)

1 banana, sliced

4-5 strawberries, sliced

1 Tbsp flax

2 Tbsp vanilla protein powder

ice

blend.  yum

fruit alternatives and/or pairings that are yummy; blueberry and banana.  oj and pineapple.  blackberries and raspberries. anything goes.

i also LOVE chocolate protein powder, chocolate soy milk (light), 1 Tbsp almond butter, 1 banana and 1 Tbsp flax blended with ice.  this is like dessert.  i swear.

homemade graham crackers

brooklyn and i made these all by ourselves and they're quite tasty!

i'll admit, they don't 'crack' like i love my graham crackers to 'crack' but, they're a nice light treat.   more like a soft cracker/cookie consistency.  you know what i mean?

so while these were yummy to eat and easy to make, i need to be honest, they're nothing like store bought graham crackers and i love store bought graham crackers.  what would be fun? why i will make these again, is to try them out with s'mores.  next time i make them, i'm going to spread marshmallow spread on them and let a piece of chocolate melt over the top of that while i sit by the fire in the mountains.  it sounds wonderful!  chewy, warm s'mores.  ... something to look forward to.

homemade graham crackers
source
{notes from my kitchen: i do not own a food processor big enough to handle the quantity of the ingredients listed so i used my kitchen aid mixer.  the dough was "dry," tough to roll without cracking but we figured it out.  i'm not sure if this had anything to do with the mixing process or not}

1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp molasses
1/4 cup water, plus a little more if it is too dry (i only used 1/4 cup, maybe that explains the dryness?)

combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.  cut in the butter until the texture is dry and crumbly.

in a small bowl, mix the honey, molasses, and water. mix with the dry ingredients until blended in the food processor.  pulse the dough until it forms a ball.  wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.

preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  roll the dough out onto a floured surface, i used whole wheat flour for this part.  roll the dough out thin and cut with cookie cutters.  or, you can do the traditional graham cracker shape poking with a fork.

bake for 15 minutes or until they are golden brown and crisp.  store in an air tight container.  they will keep for awhile.

yields 15 servings (2 crackers = serving)

Nutrition Facts homemade graham crackers Serving Size: 1 serving Amount Per Serving Calories 148 Total Fat 6.4g       Saturated Fat 3.1g       Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 16mg Sodium 219mg Carbohydrate 21.5g       Dietary Fiber 2g       Sugars 6.5g Protein 2.6g Vitamin A 4% Vitamin C 0% Calcium    7% Iron 4%

apple zucchini muffins

cousin gwen posted another delicious recipe on her blog some time back.

husband asked me to make him some breakfast foods he could re-heat in the morning.  apparently, he's tired of toaster waffles.

being the good wife that i am, i whipped up another egg and sausage casserole (i used wheat bread this time around) and thought i'd give gwen's apple zucchini muffins a try.  don't hold your breath but, later this week i'm going to experiment with baked oatmeal.

anyway, these muffins are wonderful.  the apples are the perfect touch!

to some, the list of spices might be a bit overwhelming but i've been stocking up for some time now so i had everything on hand.  if you do not, i would guess cinnamon alone would be sufficient or apple pie spice.

i made a few changes to the recipe but i plugged both recipes in to the builder and the nutritional differences were minimal so, do what you want.

apple zucchini muffins
3 large eggs (i used 3/4 cup egg substitute)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (i used 1 cup and eliminated the oil below)
1/4 cup oil
1 cup agave nectar (i used 1/2 cup of light agave and 1/2 cup of brown sugar ... i didn't want to use up all my agave!)
1 tbsp vanilla
2 red apples, cored and chopped
2 cups of zucchini, shredded
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
chopped walnuts (optional)

pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  spray muffin pan or cups with non-stick cooking spray.

1. mix wet ingredients excluding apples and zucchini
2. mix dry ingredients
3. combine both.  fold in apples and zucchini.

bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

makes approximately 30 muffins
nutritional info includes walnuts (1/2 cup)

107 calories, 2.3g fat (.3g saturated fat), 0mg cholesterol, 143mg sodium, 20.1g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 2.8g protein.

no bake "clif" bars

{can you tell which one is the real thing?  okay, i know it's not that hard but it was a fun and worthwhile experiment}

in our family, we love snacking.  however, i do not love trying to find adequate snacky-ish foods.

as part of my crazy plan to run a marathon, i've been running a lot (weird).  running a lot = a lot of calories burned which need to be replenished.  i never dreamed this would be a problem for me, having to eat more.  the challenge is that i am committed to fueling my body with quality foods but most quality foods are low in calories which leaves me feeling like i'm constantly eating even when i'm not hungry.

the point? during my quest for sufficient snacky-ish foods, i decided i really like clif bars and the kids do too.

the problem?  well, there are two problems here.  #1, clif bars run about $1.50/bar and #2, the inulin fiber in clif bars (chicory root), causes really bad gas (ever had a fiber one product?  you'll know what i'm talking about).  when five people in one house are eating clif bars that contain chicory root on a regular basis, the evenings are rough, it's not pretty.  we cannot hang out in the same room without killing each other off.  may the strongest survive!

at first, it was funny.  especially to the kids but now, even they are getting annoyed with the passing of wind and so i decided it would be worth trying to make my own bars without the inulin fiber.

luckily, i didn't have to look too far.  this woman was way ahead of me so i followed her lead.

i had the kids helped me so they would want to eat them when we were done (it worked).  cayden made the chocolate chip, brooklyn made the peanut butter and i made the cranberry with pepitas.  after a taste test, we decided brooklyn's were the best.  the cranberry bars are edible but would be a lot better if i hadn't used almond butter.  next time, i'll use the peanut butter for a little more sweetness.

all in all, i'll for sure make these again (less the chocolate bars, the didn't work out at all but that could have something to do with cayden's measuring skills).

here's what we used:

chocolate on the left, peanut butter in the middle and the cranberry on the right.

a close up:

check out the recipe and variations here.

1 and 1/4 cups crisp rice cereal (e.g., I like Erwhon Crisp Brown, but Rice Krispies are fine)
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (flaxseed meal)1/4 cup finely chopped dried fruit (e.g., raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, etc.)
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts or seeds (pepitas are great)
1/3 cup brown rice syrup 
1/2 cup nut butter (preferably natural, well-stirred, but creamy is fine, too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine the rice cereal, oats, flaxseed meal, dried fruit, and nuts in a large bowl.

Combine the syrup and nut butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted and well-blended (alternatively microwave in small microwave-safe bowl 30-60 seconds until melted). Stir in vanilla until blended.

Pour nut butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until coated (use a wooden spoon at first, then get your hands in it. It will be sticky, but this way you can really coat everything. Just scrape off your hands when you're done). Press mixture firmly into an 8-inch square pan (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray) using a large square of wax paper (really tamp it down). Cool in pan on a wire rack and chill at least 30 minutes to help it set. Cut into 12 bars. (Wrap bars tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator).

i'm baaack ...

oh internet, i love thee.

okay, so i haven't been able to really go grocery shopping for a while in exception to our purchase of "super bowl friendly" foods on saturday. not having much to choose from ingredient wise makes meal preparation sort of really hard (sort of really) which makes my nutritious dish blogging sort of really hard too. 

super bowl friendly foods are not diet friendly foods, not around here anyway and i wholeheartedly regret partaking in them for several reasons.  one being the way i feel the day after the binge.  i feel awful and my cravings are insane.  i am guessing this has something to do with my insulin levels being sky high after eating layer upon layer of salt, fat and sugar.  that's all that crap is really; salt, fat and/or sugar (or a delicious combination of all three i.e. chips with mango salsa).   another reason i am filled with regret is because i'm filled with gas and seriously backed up. 

let's talk about poop people.  my brother doesn't believe women poop.  he told me this once.  ha.  i do poop and it's something i'm really proud of because after years of serious irregularlity (which i attribute 100% to diet), i am finally able to go places without fretting over where the nearest toilet is.  no more stop-at-the-next-gas-station requests that i always blamed on my "genes" because i happen to be a member of a large family with many IBS suffers, most of whom are self diagnosed.  i'm now fairly certain that 90% of these great people could cure most of their tummy issues by changes in diet alone.  eat less fat, salt and sugar and drink more water and your colon with thank you.  i'm telling you!

today i have been focused on drinking a lot of water and eating super light just waiting for some relief. 

so far, for breakfast, this again.  it's a winner. 

for lunch:

a delicious protein shake after my run (which also really helps to loosen the bowels in case you were wondering).

1 scoop of vanilla whey protein (gnc ampliflied wheybolic)

1/2 cup of frozen berries

1 cup fat free milk

1 scoop (tbsp) ground flax seed (bob's red mill)
crushed ice

243 calories, 2.5g fat (0.4g saturated fat), 10mg cholesterol, 236mg sodium, 25.8g carbs, 4.3g fiber, 19.2g sugar, 30.8g protein.

i crave my shakes.  smoothies.  whatever you want to call them.  they are super filling and super quick to make.  they're convenient too ... easy to consume on the run. 

the protein powder i use from gnc was recommended by the knowledgeable man working the counter.  he asked me a bunch of questions about my diet and lifestyle and then made his recommendation. 

i use bob's red mill ground flax because i like it better than any other brand i've tried.  why ground flax seed? well, i don't eat any seafood so i don't get a lot of those healthy omega-3 fatty acids in my diet.  they're great for a lot of reasons; they help reduce your risk of heart disease and may help reduce the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis.  in addition to omega-3s, flax seeds contain fiber, zinc, iron, vitamin E and calcium among other vitamins and minerals, and are low in saturated fat.  i know this because eatright.org told me so and they don't lie.  ground flax can be added to all sorts of foods.  i'm sure it's great in baked goods as well as oatmeal and cereal.  store it in the fridge in an airtight container for a longer shelf life.

lunch will be a really boring salad of sorts but dinner is going to be delicious.  until then ....